Fans will see two mixed teams at Dartford, says Livermore

Millwall assistant manager David Livermore has stated his pleasure at how pre-season training has gone so far.

Since returning to Calmont Road on Monday 25th June, The Lions' squad have been put through their paces by Neil Harris and his backroom staff.

After two weeks of testing, Saturday's pre-season friendly against Dartford at Princes Park (kick-off midday) will give Harris and Livermore their first chance to run the rule over their charges in competitive action.

"Pre-season training has gone well so far," the assistant boss told millwallfc.co.uk. "The guys have come back in decent shape and are enjoying it. It's hard work, but it's great to see them again and get ready for another long, hard season.

"With the extended break and the extra 2-3 weeks off, players' fitness naturally drops. The first port of call is for the Sports Science and Medical teams to go through their gym-based stuff, then the yo-yo test gives us an idea of what shape they're in.

"That means we can start our training programme and adapting plans accordingly. To be fair, though, we haven't had to change too much so far, which is a good sign - that shows the guys have come back in and are robust enough to get on with our programmes."

Livermore also suggested that all of Millwall's squad will be used in the Kent heat this weekend - but a starting XI for the opening day Sky Bet Championship clash with Middlesbrough is not in mind just yet.

"We're looking at two 45-minute teams. Pre-season is progressive, so that's the same with game time. We have to make sure that we don't push them too hard, too soon, so this weekend the fans will be seeing two mixed teams with some under 23s thrown it as well.

"In terms of a starting XI for the Middlesbrough, it will be the lads that are in form at the time - whoever has responded better to the training. Our first port of call is to gauge where the players are at in the 45 minutes at Dartford and then try and be progressive from there, bringing everyone up to the 90-minute mark for the first game of the season."

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